FED:Austar takeover decision closer: ACCC

The competition watchdog says it’s closer to making a decision on Foxtel’s proposed takeover of regional pay TV provider Austar.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims said the decision had been delayed by the massive amount of information supplied by the companies in support of their merger, which took time to process.

He said the ACCC had follow-up questions which led to more information being provided and had only recently finished taking submissions from other parties.

“I think the process will start to pick up now but I’m afraid that’s the reason for the delay up until now," he told the Melbourne Press Club on Monday.

The ACCC raised some initial concerns about the proposed tie-up in an initial statement of issues.